Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Find Schools Near

2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k

10 Ranked Colleges
271 Degrees Awarded
$17,100 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor's in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Social Work is the 12th most popular major in the country with 57,618 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, social work graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $36,459 and had an average of $30,084 in loans still to pay off.

Across Iowa, there were 465 social work graduates with average earnings and debt of $36,950 and $28,476 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 271 social work graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,922 and $25,876 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 10 colleges that offer a degree in social work. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent social work programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the social work program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Social Work Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 10 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Social Work (Income $30-$48k) in Iowa

#1

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Northern Iowa. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k list. UNI is a medium-sized school located in Cedar Falls, Iowa that handed out 72 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

UNI also took the #1 spot in our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UNI is $12,495 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.

Read more about Social Work at University of Northern Iowa

#2

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Iowa landed the #2 spot on the list. Iowa is a large school located in Iowa City, Iowa that handed out 54 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. The estimated yearly cost for Iowa is $15,073 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students whose families make $30-$48k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of Iowa Social Work Report

#3

Buena Vista University

Storm Lake, Iowa

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Buena Vista University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k. This small school is located in Storm Lake, Iowa, and it awarded 7 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

BVU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. The estimated yearly cost for BVU is $12,773 for iowa bachelor’s degree social work students whose families make $30-$48k.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read full report on Social Work at Buena Vista University

#4

Briar Cliff University

Sioux City, Iowa

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Briar Cliff University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k list. Briar Cliff University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Sioux City, Iowa. The school has a small population, and it awarded 42 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Briar Cliff, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Briar Cliff University is $20,688 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read more about Social Work at Briar Cliff

#5

Mount Mercy University

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Mount Mercy University landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 11 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s social work students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Mount Mercy, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $15,098 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Mount Mercy University.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Mount Mercy Social Work Report

#6

Loras College

Dubuque, Iowa

Loras College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k list. Loras is located in Dubuque, Iowa and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 19 bachelors’s social work degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Loras, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $17,094 for iowa bachelor’s degree social work students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Loras College.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Loras Social Work Report

#7

Wartburg College

Waverly, Iowa

Wartburg College landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Located in Waverly, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 9 degrees to qualified bachelors’s social work students in 2019-2020.

Wartburg also took the #8 spot in our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Wartburg College is $19,037 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Wartburg Social Work Report

#8

Luther College

Decorah, Iowa

With a ranking of #8, Luther College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Decorah, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 12 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s social work students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our iowa bachelor’s degree social work students whose families make $30-$48k list, Luther has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Luther is $17,630 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low student loan default rate of 2.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on Social Work at Luther College

#9

Dordt University

Sioux Center, Iowa

Dordt University landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Located in Sioux Center, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 14 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s social work students in 2019-2020.

Dordt also took the #7 spot in our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Dordt University is $22,177 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Social Work at Dordt

#10

Grand View University

Des Moines, Iowa
#10 in overall quality

With a ranking of #10, Grand View University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k list. Grand View University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Des Moines, Iowa. It awarded 15 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

Grand View University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. The estimated yearly cost for Grand View University is $19,245 for iowa bachelor’s degree social work students whose families make $30-$48k.

Full Grand View University Social Work Report

Notes and References

References

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

Featured Social Work Schools

Find Schools Near You